Deadline Date:

Description:

Grants to USA nonprofits, for-profit, government agencies, school districts, and IHEs in multiple states and territories for comprehensive case management services for victims and potential victims of human trafficking. Applicants must create or verify the required registrations well in advance of the deadline date.

The primary purpose of the Trafficking Victims Assistance Program (TVAP) is to efficiently fund time-limited comprehensive case management services on a per capita basis to foreign national victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons and potential victims of trafficking seeking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) certification so they can re- establish their ability to live independently. The Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP), within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) plans to award three cooperative agreements to provide regional coverage to achieve nationwide assistance to victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons under the TVAP program. Each award will support services in specific ACF regions. The regional areas are as follows: a) ACF regions 1, 2, 3, and 4; b) ACF regions 5, 6, 7, and 8; and c) ACF regions 9 and 10. All applicants are welcome to apply for funding to support services in one or more regional areas by submitting a separate application for each solicitation.

Background:

Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of someone for the purposes of compelled labor or a commercial sex act through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Where a person younger than the age of 18 is induced to perform a commercial sex act, it is a crime regardless of whether there is any force, fraud, or coercion. Traffickers disproportionately target at-risk populations including individuals who have experienced or been exposed to other forms of violence and individuals disconnected from stable support networks. The Trafficking Victim Assistance Program (TVAP) under the OTIP within ACF has been a critical part of nationwide anti-trafficking efforts to identify foreign national victims and connect them with vital services that they need to stabilize and re-establish their ability to live independently.

In previous years, TVAP has experienced funding shortfalls. The program has witnessed a steady increase in the number of enrollees, longer enrollment periods, an increase in the enrollment of child trafficking victims with more intense case management needs, and delays in the issuance of T -nonimmigrant visas and Continued Presence. These factors have placed a strain on available TVAP funding and the agencies that implement the program. In an effort to make sure that allocated funds are available for the duration of the budget period, per capita funding caps have been established for TVAP.

In the past, ACF has issued one Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to solicit proposals to offer services through either a national and/or regional approach. To ensure that ACF has nationwide coverage across the U.S. as mandated by its legislation, OTIP is issuing three separate FOAs for specific regions of the U.S.

This FOA is one of the three FOA's that OTIP is issuing to provide coverage for each of the three distinct regional areas.

This solicitation is for TVAP coverage of the eastern states and U.S. territories in ACF regions 1, 2, 3, and 4. This includes the following states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

TVAP’s purpose is to provide trauma-informed, person-centered, comprehensive case management services to qualified persons either directly or through a network of providers, that provide direct services and community referrals. Trauma-informed, person- centered, comprehensive case management services must include, but are not limited to, emergency assistance, housing, safety planning, basic necessities, mental health services, education services, employment assistance, financial planning services, legal services, medical/dental services, family reunification (if applicable), language services, life skills development as well as assistance in accessing benefits and services to the same extent as refugees for trafficking victims who have been issued HHS certification or a letter of Child Eligibility.

TVAP assistance is to provide time-limited, comprehensive case management services, funded on a per-capita basis to foreign national victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons. An awarded organization must directly implement TVAP, through its own organization, and partnership agreements with other direct service providers, hereafter referred to as subrecipients, that meet the eligibility criteria contained in this FOA.

Program Objectives:

TVAP has the following objectives:

1) Regional Service Capacity: To conduct outreach to potential partners and build and maintain a regional network of subrecipients that support comprehensive case management service provision for foreign national victims of human trafficking in ACF regions 1, 2, 3, and 4.

2) Comprehensive Case Management Services: To provide time-limited, trauma- informed, person-centered comprehensive case management services, through direct services and community referrals to qualified persons to help them achieve HHS certification and timely access to benefits and services to the same extent as refugees so they can rebuild their lives and re-establish their ability to live independently.

3) Technical Assistance, Training, and Monitoring: To build the capacity of subrecipients by making available subject matter expertise, resources, training and technical assistance (T/TA), and to monitor the implementation of program operations and delivery of services.

4) Per Capita Services: To efficiently allocate TVAP funding to cover administrative costs for case management expenses and participant expenses on a per capita basis for qualified individuals. For more information see Section I., Program Description, Financial Requirements, Per Capita Services.

Participant Eligibility:

Persons qualified for services under TVAP (qualified persons or participants) are the following:
-A foreign national adult potential victim of a severe form of trafficking who is seeking a Certification Letter from HHS and who is actively pursuing T-nonimmigrant status and/or Continued Presence (CP) issued by DHS;
-A foreign national potential victim of a severe form of trafficking who is under 18 years of age (minor) and is seeking an Eligibility Letter from HHS;
-A foreign national under 18 years of age who has been subjected to a severe form of trafficking; or
-A foreign national victim of a severe form of trafficking who has received HHS certification.

Note: Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), U.S. citizens, and refugees are not eligible for assistance and services under this program.

For information on assistance available to eligible family members of foreign national victims of trafficking see to Section I., Program Description, TVAP Program Requirements, Comprehensive Case Management Services, Enrollment.

When determining the eligibility of an individual for services under TVAP, the following must be taken into account:
-The victim’s timely progress in achieving HHS certification (pre-certified participants) or the victim’s receipt of a HHS Certification or Eligibility Letter; and
-Whether and to what extent funds for services, benefits, or case management are available from any other federal or state-funded programs. These programs include, but are not limited to: the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) Matching Grant program; the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) at the DOJ Enhanced Collaborative Model to Combat Human Trafficking program, Comprehensive Services for Victims of Human Trafficking program, Specialized Services for Victims of Human Trafficking program; as well as other federal and state agency programs that fund benefits and services for which foreign national trafficking victims or potential victims are eligible.

All pre-certified TVAP participants (including those referred by an attorney or a law enforcement official) must be screened and assessed to determine whether the person is a victim of a severe form of trafficking, the type of trafficking, and the indicators of human trafficking that demonstrates the use of force, fraud, or coercion, except in cases of child sex trafficking.

A victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons, as defined in Section 103(14) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, as amended (P. L. 106-386), includes both sex and labor trafficking:
-Sex Trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age (22 USC § 7102).
-Labor trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery (22 USC § 7102).

Regional Service Capacity:

This FOA is for TVAP coverage for the states and U.S territories in ACF regions 1, 2, 3, and 4 which includes: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The TVAP lead agency must recruit, develop, and maintain a network of subrecipients that support TVAP activities in the funded ACF regions. The service delivery strategy must include all qualified service providers who request participation in TVAP, regardless of whether the service providers are outside of the lead agency’s formal network.

The TVAP strategy must ensure that victims have access to services regardless of where they are physically located within the geographic catchment area. TVAP must cover administrative costs for case management services and per capita expenses within the funding restrictions specified within this FOA to qualified persons requesting assistance in ACF Regions 1, 2, 3, and 4.

TVAP must support case management services in the funded regions directly, or via subawards with subrecipients. All subrecipients must be located in the same geographic area as the participants they plan to serve.

Subject to the approval of the Federal Project Officer, remote case management services may be provided only in cases when a service provider cannot be located near the participant.

The program must develop a collaborative relationship with TVAP lead agencies in other regions with the goal to support a nationwide network of services so that participants will have access to a seamless system of care with the ability to be transferred between regions, as necessary.

Subrecipient Outreach:

TVAP must have a plan to conduct outreach in ACF Regions 1, 2, 3, and 4 and have in place or recruit qualified subrecipients that agree to provide case management services, to provide T/TA upon request to service providers and attorneys receiving or providing referrals, as well as law enforcement officials, and DHS and FBI victim specialists about available TVAP services, and HHS Certification and Child Eligibility.

Subrecipient Onboarding:

Before a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is signed, prospective subrecipients must be assessed to determine if they have the capacity to provide trauma-informed, person-centered comprehensive services. Subrecipients are not required to have previous TVAP experience, but must currently be serving at-risk populations, particularly having capacity to provide appropriate services to foreign national victims of trafficking. The Federal Project Officer must approve any new subrecipient added to the TVAP network prior to entering into a MOU.

Overall, TVAP must ensure that MOUs are in place for each subrecipient organization operating under TVAP. The MOU must describe the roles and responsibilities of the TVAP lead agency and the subrecipient, the types of services and assistance that will be provided to enrolled participants, how efforts will be coordinated, protocols for making referrals, program descriptions and financial record keeping requirements, as well as other details of the implementation strategy for serving foreign national victims of trafficking.

Non-Discrimination Against Otherwise Qualified Subrecipients:

The grantee acknowledges its obligation to comply with 45 CFR Part 87 “Equal Treatment For Faith-Based Organizations,” including the requirement that all faith-based or religious organizations are eligible, on the same basis as any other organization, to participate in this and any program for which they are otherwise eligible. Thus, the grantee agrees that when selecting service providers or subgrantees it will not discriminate for or against any organization on the basis of the organization's religious character or affiliation as indicated in 45 CFR 87.3(a).

Comprehensive Case Management Services:

TVAP is expected to deliver a high-level of support and service coordination by creating standards of care, policies, and procedures that encourage person-centered, trauma-informed comprehensive case management services. The Program must develop and maintain services that assist participants as they rebuild their lives and re-establish their ability to live independently. The following TVAP requirements must be adhered to:

Person-centered response:

TVAP must be person-centered and strength-based focusing on individual capacities, preferences, and goals. Person-centered organizations understand that how someone processes trauma is an individual experience. What might be a trauma for one person is not necessarily the same for another. Person-centered care is respectful and responsive to the cultural, linguistic, and other social and environmental needs of the individual. Effective person-centered planning strengthens the voice of the individual, builds resiliency, and fosters recovery.

Trauma-informed response:

TVAP must be trauma-informed realizing the widespread impact of traumatic events experienced by the participant; recognizing the signs and symptoms of trauma in staff, clients, and others involved in the service provision system; identifying appropriate paths for healing; and responding by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, procedures, practices, and settings. Trauma is a nearly universal human experience that can range from simple trauma, like a car accident, to ongoing, complex trauma as found in human trafficking. Given its prevalence, integrating trauma-informed responses is important for all organizations to apply across the entire organizational structure.

Organizations that understand the physiological impacts of trauma can build policies, procedures, and practices that support their staff, consultants, board members, volunteers and participants. Such organizations can recognize both primary and secondary trauma responses and provide training for all levels of the organization.

Services:

TVAP subrecipients must work with participants to assess their needs that will guide the creation of an individualized service plan to be used during the immediate aftermath of victim identification, while the victim seeks HHS certification and after receipt of certification.

Funding under the TVAP program may be supplemented to cover participant expenses such as temporary housing and shelter, medical services, training services delivered by nongovernmental organizations (NGO's), and support in obtaining pro bono legal and professional services. See Section I., Program Description, Post-Award Requirements, Definitions and Terms for definitions of eligible participant expenses.

Foreign national victims often encounter a host of legal challenges that preclude them from accessing services and benefits and re-establishing their ability to live independently. Under TVAP, grant funds may be used to support the following legal services on behalf of participants:

-Legal immigration services, including assistance in screening the pre-certified participant to ensure that the person is an authentic victim of a severe form of trafficking;
-Explanation of legal rights and protections;
-Coordination with law enforcement to support requests for Continued Presence;
-Assistance in applying for T-nonimmigrant status or, in the case of minors, other immigration relief;
-Assistance in applying for adjustment of status;
-Assistance on family and civil matters, including protection from abuse orders, child custody, victims’ rights enforcement and compliance efforts, representation in family court, and emancipation of minors;
-Legal assistance with repatriation or family reunification; and
-General legal advocacy on matters that arise as a direct result of the human trafficking situation.

Assistance can also include victim advocacy and information about Crime Victim Compensation, crime victims’ rights, and services. TVAP funds may also be used to provide ‘know your rights’ presentations and to facilitate legal representation by private attorneys willing to act on behalf of the individual pro bono. It is important to seek pro bono legal services when possible, and to monitor and limit the cost of such services to ensure that resources are available to meet other basic needs.

Enrollment:

TVAP aims support services and assistance that help to stabilize qualified persons as soon as possible. TVAP must seek to minimize delay in delivering services to qualified persons under this grant program. Initial contact with a new participant must be initiated within 48 hours of the receipt of a referral.

TVAP is not a long-term support program. Case management services and per capita expenses are limited to a total of 12 months for enrolled participants. Participants are not required to use the 12 months of assistance in consecutive periods.

Family members and derivatives are not eligible to enroll as individual participants. However, derivatives and certain family members who live with the participant may derive benefits from the services provided to the participant, such as housing, food, and other expenses that are determined in the best interest of the participant and their household. In recognition of the need for additional assistance to participants who live with an eligible family member(s), TVAP provides a higher per capita rate for these enrollees.

Eligible family members include:
-A family member in receipt of a derivative T visa issued by DHS;
-A dependent minor child of a potential victim of trafficking seeking HHS certification; and
-A dependent minor child of a victim of a severe form of trafficking who has received a HHS certification.

Pre-Certified Adults:

Pre-certified adult participants who have not yet started the process for receiving T-nonimmigrant status or CP must meet with a law enforcement official and/or an attorney within 6 weeks of enrollment in TVAP unless unable to do so due to physical, emotional, or psychological trauma or because of logistical constraints. TVAP must establish evaluative benchmarks regarding a participant’s progress in achieving HHS certification (such as in the case of adults meeting with a federal law enforcement official, requesting a federal law enforcement application for CP, applying to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [USCIS] for T -nonimmigrant status, or initial assessment by an immigration attorney) and use progress toward these benchmarks to evaluate continued enrollment in the program.

Pre-Certified Minors:

Pre-certified minor victims must be pursuing a HHS Eligibility Letter to be enrolled in TVAP. TVAP must establish evaluative benchmarks to determine a minor “pursuing an HHS Eligibility Letter”, such as indication of a Request for Assistance being submitted to HHS on the minor’s behalf or indication of the minor having a valid HHS Interim Assistance Letter.

HHS Certified Participants:

The purpose of case management services for participants who have received a HHS Certification or Eligibility letter is to assist participants to enroll promptly in federal and state benefits and services to the same extent as refugees, to obtain employment, and to re-establish their ability to live independently.

Case management services funded by TVAP should facilitate the timely issuance of Certification and must not support actions that delay HHS certification and the enrollment in programs that HHS certified victims of trafficking are eligible to receive. HHS certification must be requested as soon as a participant is eligible and, in the case of an adult, has a government-issued identification document.

TVAP must have a plan to coordinate services with the ORR State Refugee Coordinator and State Refugee Health Coordinator (where applicable) to assist certified victims in accessing benefits and services.

Participants must be informed of their eligibility for benefits and services to the same extent as
refugees immediately upon certification by HHS. These may include, but not limited to, all State Refugee Social Services, Wilson-Fish Program, and any ORR Discretionary programs.

Faith-Based Organizations:

ACF is mindful that potential grantees may have religious objections to providing certain kinds of services. ACF is committed to exploring ways for faith-based organizations to partner with ACF and other service providers even if they object to providing specific services on religious grounds. At the same time, ACF is committed to providing the full range of legally permissible services to people who need them, and to do so in a timely fashion and in a manner that respects the diverse religious and cultural backgrounds of those we serve. To accomplish this goal with respect to religious objection and required services, organizations that have a religious objection to providing any TVAP required services, must provide an alternative approach to meet its grant obligations.

The alternative approach must be one that accomplishes the goal of ensuring that trafficking victims understand the full range of services available in the program, and that there is a mechanism by which TVAP participants requesting such services can receive requested services, either directly through the subrecipient or partnering organization(s). If an alternative approach is proposed, it will be reviewed post-award during grant and cooperative agreement negotiations. The following criterion will be used to review the alternative approach: 1) will the approach ensure timely provision of all services for which the individual is eligible; 2) is the approach not burdensome to the participant; and 3) is the approach operationally feasible for ACF.

Technical Assistance, Training, and Monitoring:

TVAP must ensure that T/TA maximizes its limited resources as well as coordinates efforts with the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center (NHTTAC) using resources it develops for anti-trafficking grantees. NHTTAC is available to provide T/TA to the TVAP lead agency on a limited basis. NHTTAC has a repository of recommended training materials.

TVAP must be able provide T/TA to subrecipients on the following topics:
-Introduction to grant program and onboarding such as financial and program requirements;
-Program policy, protocols, reporting requirements, and administration such as not using TVAP funds when other federal and state resources, such as the OVC trafficking specific services;
-Approaches, strategies, and special considerations for working with victims such as comprehensive case management services, trauma-informed, person-centered approaches, specialized needs of foreign national adult and child victims;
-Available services and benefits such as Federal, state, and local resources for which victims with HHS certification, those without certification, and derivative family members;
-Building community referral networks and partnership building including participation in anti-trafficking coalitions, task forces, and other programs to identify, enroll, and support eligible participants and to identify appropriate referral service providers;
-Data collection, management, and reporting;
-HHS Certification, Eligibility, and other resources;
-Human Trafficking 101: definition, types, laws, and indicators;
-Legal services and remedies such as accessing legal services, Continued Presence and T-nonimmigrant status, including derivative T visas; and
-Outreach Strategies.

TVAP training must be updated and maintained to reflect ongoing feedback from participants who have completed the training through a post training evaluation mechanism (e.g., pre/post- test survey). TVAP must track participation in T/TA and include this information in its reports submitted to the Federal Project Officer.

TVAP must monitor and evaluate the quality of case management services provided to qualified participants by subrecipients. TVAP must monitor subrecipients' efforts to help participants achieve HHS certification and re-establish their ability to live independently.

TVAP lead agencies must ensure that subrecipients provide monthly updates to the TVAP lead agency on each pre-certified participants progress towards HHS certification and each certified participant’s enrollment in federal and state benefits and services and progression towards living independently.

The monitoring of subrecipient programs may consist of a combination of desk-audits and on- site monitoring visits.

The ACF programs identified below should be used to promote, coordinate, and make referrals to service delivery systems, and T/TA resources.

In cases when a request for assistance is submitted to HHS on behalf of a potential foreign minor victim of trafficking and indicates that the minor may be a victim of trafficking (the trafficking concerns are not clear), the TVPRA mandates that HHS issues Interim Assistance to the minor and consults with NGOs before HHS issues the minor an Eligibility Letter. In these particular cases, HHS has elected to seek consultation services from the TVAP lead agencies. After Interim Assistance is issued to a minor, HHS provides the TVAP lead agency with a summary (redacted of any personally identifiable information) of the potential trafficking concerns to seek consultation on whether the NGO concurs or non-concurs with whether it appears the minor is a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons. The NGO is required to review the case summary and provide consultation and analysis based on their expertise of human trafficking. HHS then uses this consultation when making an Eligibility or Denial determination on the minor’s case. Consultation responses are expected to be delivered to HHS within 10 business days of receipt of the request.

GrantWatch ID#:

GrantWatch ID#: 158451

Estimated Total Program Funding:

$3,750,000

Number of Grants:

Expected Number of Awards: 1

Estimated Size of Grant:

-Award Ceiling: $3,750,000 Per Budget Period
-Award Floor: $3,750,000 Per Budget Period
-Average Projected Award Amount: $3,750,000 Per Budget Period

Term of Contract:

The anticipated project start date is 09/30/2018.

The grant covers a 36-month project period with three 12-month budget periods.

Additional Eligibility Criteria:

The FOA is unrestricted and open to any of the following entities: State governments; county governments; city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state controlled institutions of higher education; Native American tribal governments (federally recognized); public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments); nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS other than institutions of higher education; nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS other than institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses.

As referenced in 45 CFR §75.216(b), HHS funds are prohibited from being paid as profit to any recipient even if the recipient is a commercial organization. Profit is defined as any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs.

Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this announcement.

Faith-based and community organizations that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible to receive awards under this funding opportunity announcement.

All applicants are required to maintain an active SAM registration until the application process is complete. If a grant is awarded, registration at SAM must be active throughout the life of the award.

Plan ahead. Allow at least 10 business days after you submit your registration for it to become active in SAM and at least an additional 24 hours before that registration information is available in other government systems, i.e. Grants.gov.

The deadline to apply is August 13, 2018.

The deadline for electronic application submission is 11:59 p.m., ET, on the due date listed. Electronic applications submitted to www.Grants.gov after 11:59 p.m., ET, on the due date, as indicated by a dated and time-stamped email from www.Grants.gov, will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this announcement. That is, applications submitted to www.Grants.gov, on or after 12:00 a.m., ET, on the day after the due date will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this announcement.

The deadline for receipt of paper applications is 4:30 p.m., ET, on the due date listed. Paper applications received after 4:30 p.m., ET, on the due date will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this announcement. Paper applications received from applicants that have not received approval of an exemption from required electronic submission will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this announcement.